A Wonderful Gift to the Church

ISSUE 5 3/2021

I never thought I would graduate from theological college and return to the same place 15 years later as the leader

By the Rev’d Canon Dr Vicentia Kgabe

In their article, ‘An Integrative Definition of Leadership,’ Dr Bruce Winston and Dr Kathleen Patterson examine 90 different variables that comprise leadership. There is no single way of being a leader; every leader’s approach depends on their own life experience and the context in which they are operating. The Bible has plenty of examples of leadership, from Moses leading Israel out of Egypt to Peter’s early leadership of the Church. There is no universal model of leadership to emulate, and the appropriate form of leadership depends entirely on context. I never thought I would graduate from theological college and return to the same place 15 years later as the leader of the college. I was appointed to be the Rector of College of Transfiguration in June of 2014, and started my duties in January of 2015. I remember checking with the Most Rev’d Thabo Makgoba, Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, that my nomination and election as Rector of the College had gone through all the appropriate processes that are used for appointments in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. I did this for one reason - I wanted my appointment to be as legitimate as possible, so that everyone could see I was selected on the basis of merit, rather than tokenism. I was very much aware that I am a black woman. I was the youngest to have ever been appointed for this position and also the first former student to be given this responsibility. I worried that this appointment would raise questions within the Church or that it might be contested by people who thought that I was not experienced enough for the role. I have been interested to hear from those outside of the structure, who used my age and gender as reasons to be sceptical of my appointment. Likewise, I found that the people who celebrated and affirmed my appointment to this role were happy about my appointment for the same reasons! Some people saw my age and gender as a positive and others did not. Before I started in my role as Rector of the College of the Transfiguration, I knew of only two other women in the Anglican Communion who held similar positions: Professor Esther Mombo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) of St. Paul’s University, Kenya, and Dr Jenny Te Paa Daniel, former Principal at St John’s Theological College in Auckland. More recently, the Rev’d Dr LaKeesha Walrond has become President of New York Theological Seminary and the Rev’d Dr Yolanda Pierce has become Dean of Howard University’s School of Divinity. It is encouraging to know that more women are being appointed to lead theological seminaries and colleges. I am also excited about the possibility of partnerships between our institutions and the support we can give to each other. Having women in leadership positions at theological colleges demonstrates that the church cares about issues of inclusion, representation, recognition, and respect. To those of us who have been entrusted with positions of leadership and authority, I say that we must continue to make the church and other religious institutions safe and welcoming to all. I am conscious that any failures which happen during my time as Rector may be used as a justification to stop other women from holding this position in the future.

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ISSUE 5 3/2021

I am grateful that the glass ceiling in certain parts of the Anglican Communion is showing cracks

First year class with academic staff

I worry about whether we will have enough women theologians, lay and ordained, and I am concerned about whether we will have many women leading at the highest levels of the Church. I see many women obtaining their undergraduate qualifications but only a few of them going on to study for postgraduate qualifications. The challenges female theological students face are many of the same challenges that I faced when I was younger. I think particularly of having to deal with cultural and religious stereotypes about the role of women in church leadership. The awarding of scholarships and bursaries often favours men, unless the donor indicates that these awards are specifically reserved for female applicants. As a global Church, we need to encourage and financially support women who wish to obtain doctoral degrees in the field of theological studies. In some dioceses, students who have just completed their undergraduate qualification in theology are not allowed to register for further study for at least two years. This rule has contributed to many young theologians never returning to study for postgraduate qualifications, having lost interest in the particular area of study they may have written a thesis on. I have asked diocesan staff why this is, only to be told that after three years of residential formation and studying, newly ordained graduates need to focus solely on being curates. I encourage many different people to study theology, but especially women. Theological training is important to me, because no matter how hard you work or how knowledgeable you may be, without supporting academic documents, women will continue to miss out on appointments to leadership roles. Otherwise, there will always be someone questioning a woman’s qualifications when they are being recommended for a position of leadership. Although I am a strong advocate of theological training for all, I am keenly aware that many women are unable to access opportunities to study theology. I have heard stories told by women, and some male clergy, about being made to feel inadequate as a priest because they were not trained at a certain theological college. These anecdotes highlight the “classism” that has been created in the Church, based on the institution at which you earned your qualification. Furthermore, there is another class of clergy who do not have any theological qualifications, who are made to feel that they are not qualified to work in the Church. If we are to increase the number of female theologians in positions of leadership at theological seminaries, I believe we must first normalise the idea of women serving at our altars, teaching in our lecture rooms, and speaking at official church gatherings, such as General Synod. Exposure and participation in the ecclesial legislative bodies of the Church is crucial to the prospect of seeing more women in leadership. These things matter because the majority of our parishioners are women. If the membership of the Church is predominantly comprised of women, then surely representatives of the Church should also be women. I am grateful that the glass ceiling in certain parts of the Anglican Communion is showing cracks, even if it remains completely intact in other parts of the Communion. As we celebrate women occupying positions of leadership and authority in the Church, we need to bear in mind that for many of them, it has not been easy to reach the positions they are now in. Let us not judge them harshly nor put burdens on them that we are ourselves could not carry. Having women in positions of leadership is a wonderful gift to the Church and a gift worth valuing. ■